Arshinagar

MIRRORSVI LLE

Dance! Song! Comedy! Tragedy!

Come one! Come all!

Saala!

They prefer the idiot box to puppets!

What's the play about?

Not a play, good sirs! This is a talel

A fairy tale, see?

Fairy tale?

How boring!

Is it a love story then?

Yes! Yes! Love, murder, fights.. It's all there!

You'll get your money's worth!

No ordinary tale this! A foreign one!

Written by Lord Shakespeare himself!

Sex? - No! No! Not sex!

People look only for sex these days!

I'm talking about Shakespeare Sahib!

Great writer!

A tale written by him!

Well 'sex is there too' in small doses

Watch and find out!

Take your places now. The tale is about to start!

Come, good sirs..

...let's take you to our fairytale land -

This then, is Arshinagar. Mirrorsvillel

Now don't ask where it is!

It could be anywhere in the world!

'What's in a name?

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, right?

The fragrance of Mirrorsville slum too, remains the same.

The fragrance of Mirrorsville slum too, remains the same always!

Open drains!

Garbage spilling over!

Have to cover your nose and walk!

But what of that?

All eyes are on Mirrorsville slum right now

A new flyover is coming up, you see.

So all developers have dreams of...

...razing the slum & building here then.

And truly, Mirrorsville is a land of dreams!

Each person has a land of mirrors inside his head!

Ever seen your selves reflected there, good sirs?

No?

You will. You surely will some day.

Meanwhile, let me introduce you to the protagonists of this tale'

This is...

...Rawna

Rawnojoy Mitter.

The only son of the Miners of Mirrorsville.

Tch!

This is not a test of skill!

It's child's play!

So what do you want instead?

To blow off each child's head?

A sharp shooter...

...but not interested in guns!

This young man's only interest is music!

The heroine -

Julie

Zulekha Khan

Beloved daughter of the Khans of Mirrorsville

But, Good Lord!

What is she up to, this child from a conservative Muslim home?

And this woman with her...

...is her nurse Fatema

Been looking after her since childhood.

Some looking after, this!

But wait! There are more players here

2 kings!

Here is King no 1

Name? Bishwanath Mitter

Occupation? Real estate.

Plus...underhand dealings in drugs

Fortune favours the bold!

Sabir Khan

Owner of Khan Constructions Ltd.

King no 2! Reputed Muslim family.

But his goons too, are involved in underhand drug deals

Above all, Sabir Khan is the prime enemy of Bishu Mitten

Both have their sights fixed on Mirrorsville slum.

Both wish to tear down the slum & build highrises

At present, the slum-dwellers are fed up of their constant fights!

Come, listen for yourselves -

Hey Manik! Another round of cha!

Gang wars will start in about an hour!

Really, it's getting too much!

It's a theatre, not hutments as such.

From morning to night we have drama!

Careful now! That's a sharp new blade!

Brawling all morning, can one keep one's head?

What is it today? - Who can say!

Godforsaken fellows..

...love stepping on each other's toes!

They'll drive us out from here, God knows!

Both demand cuts! What the hell, I say!

Just paid off one; the other turns up today!

This simply can't go on! They'll soon be dead and gone!

Knife one another & be done!

Like an the shindy yesterday...

...almost at death's door Sunny lay!

You see that Tayeb Bro?

See how they bully the poor?

Where is it? Who?

Who else but those louts Sunny & Pappu!

Let's go check it out!

What's going on here?

Ah! You here too?

You & that cheat there make a fine pair!

Shut up you piece of shit!

It's me who's in for it! 80 bucks lost before any sale!

You cheat on weight at every turn of scale!

Short of cash? I'll be damned! Now scram!

We have to taste the fruit before we buy!

I took just one bite. Awful stuff! So why'

'80 bucks? You bloody cheat!

What precious flower are you, my sweet?

Go quietly about your business If not'

If not 'what?

Again!

Who asked you to pitch in, you smut? - Enough!

Now quiet, everyone!

What do you think you're up to, son of a gun?

Pick any poor man and slit his throat for fun?

Come on Tayeb, don't lose your cool so fast!

Mess with me, buddy' you breathe your last!

You make my blood boil, you pieces of slime!

From before our fathers' time you've run us down...

...without reason or rhyme!

Yet you are mere Mitters, while we are Khans sublime!

Yes?

Hello?

We're descendants of Bahadur Shah The Great!

Ah! Now we've got it straight!

Not Shahrukh, nor Salman, & yet he is a Khan!

Your dad was a refugee, surname Akhtar!

Half crazy, bleary eyed, a Unani doctor.

How come you suddenly turned Khan?

Who's your real father now? Are you your Uncle's son?

I swear to God, your life is over & done!

If life is done, it's done Be it knife we face, or gun

Come up if you dare In a trice we'll slice you bare

In a trice we'll end your run!

At night in Mirrorsville prowl hunters out to kill

No one knows when day will dawn on Mirrorsvillel

Mirrorsvillel Mirrorsvillel

At night in Mirrorsville all roads the mist will fill

Who knows when light will break on Mirrorsville?

Mirrorsvillel Mirrorsvillel

If life is done, it's done Be it knife we face, or gun

Come up if you dare In a trice we'll slice you bare

In a trice we'll end your run!

Mirrorsvillel Mirrorsvillel

Mirrorsvillel Mirrorsvillel

Ah! Here at last on the scene!

What do you mean?

When we came, just 4 years old was Tabbu

You brought him up He thinks of you as 'Abbu'

He's like your son. Hotheaded? Perhaps yes..

'But fought for you & landed in a mess.

If you don't bail him out tomorrow'

You should have told us long ago a nephew's a far cry!

Why, a sister, if a widow... is not welcome any more!

What're you saying Sister! You know well...

...Tabbu's hot temper is impossible to quell!

I've tried to reason with him in vain!

Grandma, you explain

Look Sabir, who else is there for a woman...

...but father, husband or brother? Tell me then'

...if Julie were in trouble, God forbid...

...could you rest until you came to her aid?

Shh my child, shh!

You're responsible for him, his guardian!

Go find a way to get him out of prison!

Easy for the old woman to say!

But, the person needed for that'

'is a most dangerous one!

'Is a most dangerous one!

Not King, nor Knave...

...an Ace!

Tayeb will surely kill me one day!

My image is tattered, my reputation at stake!

Lost his father early. Now a spoilt brat!

Can't control his temper, that's what.

Sabir Saab, must loving care make a monkey of a lad?

Then what's the use of culture, tell me that?

But Tayeb isn't really a bad sort

At this age their heads just get too hot!

Isn't the Police Commissioner your friend'?

That fellow Tayeb knifed, is he on the mend?

Not come to yet. It was deep, the wound!

'What's his name again? Think they call him Sunny'

Tayeb needs a lesson, I know that better than any'

I'll teach him good & proper'

First pray to Allah Miya...

...that Sunny survives! If not, I greatly fear...

...that Tayeb will be charged with murder

And your image tarnished further!

True, I could ask the Commissioner if I'

But hide any facts, &you deal with RTI (Right to Information)!